Well, several of you guessed correctly last night – today Ben and I went to the Iowa State Fair! WHICH is in the “1,000 Places to See Before You Die Book”! I love this book – I highlight and date all the places I’ve been to that are included in it, so I can look back and remember everything that I’ve done when I’m old and wrinkled 
The Iowa State Fair is one of the highlights of my summer and I’ve gone every year that I can remember. The food, the animals, the culture, the people watching – oh, the people watching – are all so uniquely Iowa. I just love it!
The State Fair is Iowa’s largest event, which attracts a million visitors from all over the Midwest, as well as the rest of the U.S. and many foreign countries.
My personal favorite part of the fair is the FOOD. All diets go out the window when it’s fair time! I started the morning off with some hot, sugary JR Miniature Donuts!
Seriously – these are one of the best things on earth – a must have for any fair visitor!
Ben started his eating adventures with his favorite fair food – Cheese Curds!
Naturally, I had to have some. Crunchy, gooey and oh-so-delicious!
Ben’s sooooo happy – he looks forward to these cheese curds all year long!
We finished off our eating extravaganza with a Foot Long Corn Dog, which is my #1 favorite fair food of all time. The light & crispy batter is something that you can only find at the fair, and is just to die for. Sadly, the moment we bought this to share is when my fair food fun came to end. Since I don’t eat fried foods, the JR donuts took my body for a wicked spin and I couldn’t stomach even a single bit of the dog…I was SO upset!!!!
Ben tackled the entire foot long himself…what a champ.
Now you can’t possibly talk about state fair foods without mentioning the phrases:
- On a stick
- Deep fried
- Chocolate covered
Here are the worst offenders I found:
Chocolate covered bacon & deep fried pineapple (that poor pineapple!!)
Deep fried mac & cheese and…well…pretty much anything you can think of dipped in chocolate. This year they had frozen peanut butter “pucks” dipped in chocolate! Holy cow – I would have scarfed this if I hadn’t just polished off a big bag of donuts!
Ok ta
ke a moment to recover. That was a lot of grease and chocolate…
So my second favorite part of the state fair is the animals. 
First we hit up the sheep barn:
This one just kept staring out the side of his pen…sad sheep!
Here’s the fair’s Biggest Ram!
Next we saw the pigs. I wonder what this one is dreaming of…probably flying…
There were pigs running around everywhere in the barns…I almost got steamrolled half a dozen times!
O…M…G… look at this pig tongue!! We were walking by a pen and Ben stopped dead in his tracks when he saw this. This pig was sleeping with his tongue hanging out!
Of course it wouldn’t be the Iowa State Fair without seeing the Biggest Boar:
This guy…was massive…in every way. Oh dear.
Some more animals:
And finally the fair’s biggest bull.
Ummm…this thing is bigger than a Buick. Check out the fan behind it so you can get a sense of how big it is!
Next we went to the Agriculture building.
The agriculture building is where they hold the competitions for best/biggest fruits, vegetables, etc. This pumpkin is the size of a small child…
The inside of the Agriculture building:
The agriculture building also holds what the Iowa State Fair may be most known for: the Butter Cow! Yep – this thing is made entirely of butter! Last year they had a butter Shawn Johnson, in addition to the cow. HA!
Butter udder:
Here are some of the fruits & veggies that are all vying for first place.
Other rando pictures from the fair!
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I can’t remember a single time that I’ve been to the Iowa State Fair where it hasn’t been 95+ degrees and semi-miserable at times. Today it was a little cooler with a fabulous breeze. This, coupled with great company and great eats, resulted in another successful Iowa State Fair visit!!
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What’s your favorite fair food? Do you have a state fair? Is it a big deal where you live?
The Iowa State Fair reminds me of the Wisconsin fair- they have the same kind of things including the cheese curds. They also have the chair lift which I rode in, but it was kind of scary but fun!
Looks like you had a blast!
Yup! We have a fair every year in the summer. It is a really big deal. When I was a kid, my parents would take us there every year. Now that I am older, I feel like it is the same thing every year.
What a great way to spend a Saturday! I’ve only been to the Iowa State Fair once about 8 years ago, but I’ve been to the Nebraska one every year since I was born. We’ll take the kids again this year during Labor Day weekend. It is interesting to see what new foods they come up with every year, most of which make my stomach churn just thinking about them!
Wow that corn dog looks amazing!
How fun!!! Sorry your belly started to hurt! I think I may just have to go buy that book and steal your highlighting/dating trick
Minnesota state fair is coming up and I’m running the 5k and then walking the fair all day! I love mini donuts too, but my favorite thing is the Dairy barn milkshakes! MSF is my favorite time of year, loved looking at your beautiful pictures, you are such a great photographer. I wish I had those skills!
That looks so fun. i don’t think we have anything like that in Massachusetts. And I think that bull ate a little too much chocolate covered bacon lol
I was at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday, and the first thing we found were the mini donuts, too! It seems like it’s either scorching hot, or raining, and sometimes both! It’s always a good way to spend the day!
I do not really go to fairs, but I LOVE festivals. Ohio is all about the fall festivals. Our faves are the Italian and the Greek festivals which both occur the weekend after labor day. Fave foods? Sausage with peppers and onions, gyro, cannoli, baklava…beer…I could go on and on!
sooo fun. i would not have been able to
resist the chocolate dipped peanutbutter
and/or the frozen smore! love fair time.
wow the fried cheese curds actually look pretty good.
looks like tons of fun!
Those sheepies are so gorgeous
what an odd looking pumpkin! it isn’t even orange… yet it is so massive! wow !
i used to go to the state fair but … i haven’t been in years.
no real fave foods though! just love frozen lemonades.
-muffy
Fair Food + Piggies = Bliss… I’m a big fan of both (trying to convince the parents that they NEED a pig… they’re not going for it)
My fave is Funnel Cake… can’t get over the yumminess
The fair by my parents (Erie Co. in NY) is a biiiiig deal though… I just go for the carousel and the pumpkin contests
when you were at uni, did you ever get the mini donuts on the hill? soooo good at 2am!
i hadn’t ever been to a fair until this year, and i went to my county fair. i just peeked around a bit, but i loved the goats! they were so cute! i took my dog, and he liked them too
i have never been to the IA state fair, but one of my friends used to announce the upcoming events at the fair for a summer job in High School – i always thought that was pretty funny.
i think my favorite fair food would have to be an ice cold beer. but that’s not really food…
when you were in college, did you ever get the mini donuts on the hill? soooo good at 2am!
i hadn’t ever been to a fair until this year, and i went to my county fair. i just peeked around a bit, but i loved the goats! they were so cute! i took my dog, and he liked them too
i have never been to the IA state fair, but one of my friends used to announce the upcoming events at the fair for a summer job in High School – i always thought that was pretty funny.
i think my favorite fair food would have to be an ice cold beer. but that’s not really food…
This post makes my heart hurt! My friends and family are all there, and I would give anything to be joining them. My best friend loves the mini donuts, too. I’m all about the leg of lamb sandwich from the Sheep Industry people.
Thanks for posting so many great pictures! I’ve been posting my favorite ISF pics from the past 30+ years on my Twitter feed this month…have to get back on the ball today and start posting some more.
Thanks for sharing!
The fair looks so fun! I love all the pictures. Michigan has a state fair, but we’ve never gone–it’s not in the safest area. It’s definitely not as big a deal as the Iowa State fair, though! We’ve gone to county fairs before, and those have been fun.
I could never pick just one favorite fair food. I usually have to go over several days so I can try them all: veggie corn dogs, deep fried pickles, Dairy barn shakes, sweet potato fries, deep fried Oreos, lemon shake-ups. I’ve never tried the mini donuts, though! I usually have to hit up the watermelon stand to eat something that isn’t deep fried. And I love that they have a wine tent now.
Great pictures! I think you told the story of the Iowa State Fair very well!
We’re going tomorrow with the kids and next weekend without the kids. I. Can’t. Wait!!
Lol, a butter Shawn Johnson. I don’t know why, but that’s really making me laugh.
I like funnel cake but haven’t had it in years. I don’t know of any fairs around here, but when I was a kid, we used to go to the Montgomery County Fair (in MD) every summer. At that time, I liked the rides although looking back, I’m surprised my parents let me go on them.
MN state fair equally as awesome. cheese curds are #1, corn on the cob #2 and sweet martha’s choc chip cookies with unlimited milk at the milk stand are #3.
the biggest hog at the fair is what we always had to see as kids…brings back all the memories!
I’m forest green with envy. I’ve been Longing for the state fair and your pictures are a nice little vicarious visit, so thanks for that.
BTW – Lea has been making green monsters everyday she works from home (which is often, lately), and I finally got my first this weekend! That ish is delish. So fresh and has that make-me-feel-good quality. Keep it up!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post! I won’t be able to make it home to the IA State Fair this year, and as much as my husband would like to claim the MN State Fair is as good or better, he just has no idea what he’s talking about. There’s nothing that compares to our fair!
So, thank you for letting me live vicariously through your post and pictures. It’s much appreciated.
I just found your blog today through Simply Savor, and was excited to see this post! I love State Fairs and we have a pretty big one here in Texas too. Looks like you had a great time.
My favorite fair food is Turkey legs. My mouth waters just thinking about it.
Hi Kristin!
My daughter & I were at the Iowa State Fair on Sat. too! I love it as much as you do & ate all the same foods. We actually tried the chocolate covered peanut butter, & it was awesome! WAY rich! We haven’t tried the donuts but are going back on Thurs. & will have to give them a try. Have you ever tried the peppermint bar at Bauder’s (just north of the dairy barn)? It’s a think chunk of peppermint ice cream w/ fudge sauce on the top & bottom & crushed up oreos stuck in the fudge. To die for!!
I also eat very healthy most of the rest of the year, & the Fair is one of my few splurges I really look forward to. I have to be very careful not to overdo it, too, ‘cuz my tummy tends to revolt against all that artery clogging goodness.
Haha–just now read this post after you linked to it in your blog today (6.18.10).
I tried the fried mac n cheese when it first came out! I love trying new foods, but that one is NASTY. It was disgusting (not a surprise, right?!). It was just a little tray of gooey fried balls of mush. So sick!
My favorite is the hot beef sundae. Weird sounding, but actually I think it’s a not-too-unhealthy way to eat dinner at the fair. It’s by the Iowa Beef people and it’s a bowl with a scoop of mashed potatoes, a pile of yummy roast beef, gravy, some shredded cheddar cheese, and a cherry tomato on top. So good! I always go to the fair during the week and go after 5 p.m. so it’s cooler out AND half price, and then I get dinner there. I like doing that more than trying to combat the Saturday crowds at about 1 p.m.
Getting excited for August already!!
[...] my favorite fair foods include corndogs, mini doughnuts & cheese curds, all of which I consumed last year. Since the fair only comes around once a year, I give myself permission to indulge. During the [...]
Ummm…no! How did I not know about this?! Where were they at?
Kristin @ Iowa Girl Eats http://iowagirleats.wordpress.com http://twitter.com/iowagirleats
oooo I am really regretting not eating that choco covered PB…I may have to experiment at home!!
Kristin @ Iowa Girl Eats http://iowagirleats.wordpress.com http://twitter.com/iowagirleats